AT THE TABLE

“At the Table” deals with the inherent need for human connection and sustenance. I was asked to participate in a show entitled “At the Table” in its early stages that subsequently got renamed and refocused. The subject matter stuck with and intrigued me. I began to think of how deeply spiritual and primal this was, not only being fed physically but spiritually as well. And then thought about many of the religious/ethnic celebrations that centered on food. Then I thought of my growing up in the fifties/sixties/seventies and how different those gatherings looked compared to today’s meals/celebrations, yet held the same significance. I thought of how this carried through each time we gather and partake, on a daily basis.

This led me to envision a series of works depicting the basic elements of coming to the table to share food: seating the guests, serving the food, saying grace, partaking and dessert. As a printmaker who loves incorporating diverse materials into my art, I chose wood veneers as a base substrate on which to create (a nod to the table?). These are treated as huge tabletops, if you will, onto which elements of fabric are chine-colled as table runners, placemats, border prints or tablecloths themselves.

My personal visual calligraphic printed shapes dance over the veneer surfaces as either guests standing in a circle waiting to be seated, wait staff arms gracefully serving the food to already seated guests, notes of grace hanging in the air above the guests as the blessing is said, a group of boisterous participants feasting or a beckoning spread of elegant desserts. Materials include wood veneer, fabric, lino-cut, and mixed media.